Build logs are the open source equivalent of the research notebook. You basically document the progress of a project, but it can be so much more. You can collaborate with others, get feedback, have people review your work. Often feedback can save you from mistakes already made by others.

The site and forum are run by Barton Dring, whom we can thank for MakerSlide.

Inspirational Pieces

Kinetic models

http://www.derekhugger.com/store.html --- includes sculpture, a hummingbird, marble machine, clock, &c. Notable for having a tools page which shares the underlying mechanical concepts and formulae (linked to elsewhere on the wiki)